Hydraulic ram.



P. E. ALGER. HYDRAULIC .RAM. AfPLmATIoN TILED APR. 13, 1907.

Patented Sept. 7, 1909. I

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WITNESSES) W' Arumew. a. Gnmm o0. FNOYD-LITNOGRAFNE P. E. ALGEB.HYDRAULIC RAM. APPLIOATIONE'ILEDAPR.13,1907.

I Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

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WITNESSES P. E. ALGER.

HYDRAULIC RAM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1907.

933,283. Patented Sept. 7, 1909;.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP E. ALGER, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR TO COLUMBIA ENGINEERINGWORKS, 013 PORTLAND, OREGON, AGORPORATION OF OREGON.

HYDRAULIC RAM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. '7, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP E. ALGER, a citizen of the United States, anda residentof Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hydraulic Rams, of whichthe following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings as constituting a part thereof.

This invention relates to that type of hydraulic ram heretofore inventedby Frederick Hesse, and has for its object to overcome certain defectswhich were discovered in the practical operation of the latter, namely:The waste-valve in the ram referred to was opened during the periods ofregurgitation by the force generated by an oscillating pendulum weight,but it was found that the pendulum would periodically be out ofsynchronism with the cyclic motion of the waste-valve, whereupon the ramcould be brought to a standstill and it was necessary for the same to bestarted over. To prevent this condition, I have eliminated the pendulummechanism and substituted therefor a spring by which the waste-valve isdependably operated, and I provide also means for adjusting the atension of the spring, the whole device being arranged and cooperatingas hereinafter fully described.

In order to readily understand the purpose of my improvements, I havegiven full illustrations of the construction of the ram referred to.

In the drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of my hydraulic ram; Fig. 2is a front view thereof, drawn on a somewhat reduced scale; Fig. 3 is aplan of the valve-seat, of the delivery valve; Figs. 4 and 5 are detailsof construction, more fully described in the body of the specification;Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section taken approximately on a linewm of Fig. 2; and Fig. 7 is a plan section of a modification of my ram,adapting the same to be used in connection with a larger drive-pipe.

The general construction of the ram referred to may be more readilyobserved from Fig. 6. It comprises a short body, a, made with flanges b,c, to the former of which is bolted a waste-valve seat cl, having acentral opening 6, and to the flange c is bolted a companion flange f,in which is inserted the drive-pipe g. The upper part of the body ismade with a delivery-valve opening conltrolled by a valve j, and hasintegrally formed thereon a delivery chamber h, having an outlet is, inwhich is inserted the delivery pipe Z. On the chamber h is mounted anair chamber m. The delivery pipe j rests on a gridiron web It made witha central eye if (see Fig. 3) through which extends a boltlikevalve-stem j, on which is a coil-spring f, the tension of which isadjustable by a nut j toregulate the degree of resistance of the valveThe waste-valve opening a is controlled by a disk valve n, which isrigidly connected by its stem 0 to a spindle p, journaled in bearings q,q, integral parts of the valveseat casting cZ. Excepting the means ofperiodically opening the waste-valve, the foregoing descriptionrepresents the ram prior to my improvement thereof. To accomplish thepurpose of my improvement, the waste-valve n is controlled by a spring1', fastened to a boss 8 of the collar 8 (see sections Figs. 4 and'5),and the collar .9 is adjustably fixed on the spindle p by a setscrew t.The spring 0' terminates in a straight leaf 9", which bears against alug a or other fixed objecton the exterior of the delivery chamber h. Toaid the reading of Fig. (3 the position of the spring is thereinindicated in dotted outline.

The function of the spring 1 is to open the waste-valve automatically assoon as the pressure on the interior face of the valve disk will permitit, and by moving the collar 8 circumferentially on the spindle p, thetension of the spring 1" may be increased or diminished to suit theconditions present. When a large volume of water is available, :thetension of the spring 1' is increased to give the waste-valve n a longerinterval of opening, thus causing the flow of drive water to reach itsmaximum speed before closing the valve. This condition permits a maximumquantity of water to be lifted and discharged through the delivery pipej, and is the proper adjustment of the ram when it is desired to lift amaximum quantity of water without regard to economy in the waste of thedrive water. On the other hand, when only a small volume of water isavailable, the tension of the spring 1" is to be diminished so as tomake the opening of the waste-valve as short and quick as possible, thisreduces the duration of the flow and the resultant friction of water inthe drive-pipe,

g the spring 1, and this arrangement enables the use of a comparativelylow tension causing a greater number of impulses in a given unit oftime. By this adjustment a large quantity of water is liifited inproportion to the quantity wasted. The adjustment of the spring 1"controlling the wastevalve is also an essential ingredient of myinvention to enable the adjustment of the ram to meet the conditions ofa high or low head of Water; that is to say, when having to deal with ahigh head the force of the spring would have to be increased", andincase of a low head the power of the spring would have to becorrespondingly dimin- The parts described" cooperate as follows:Supposingthe drivewater to have filled the ram body' and" to be in astate of equilibrium andrest,fi-f the waste-valye a be then opened bypushing it back with sufficient force to overcome the pressure againstits interior, the water will begin to flow out of the wastevalve 6 withincreasing velocity; The delivery-valve j will remain closed during thetlbw of water through the outlet 6. YVhen the force of impact againstthe waste-valve is sufiiici'ent to' overcome the tensicm of the spring17' and the waste-valve is forced against its seat, the energy containedin the moving column of water will. be directed against thedelivery-valve j, opening the latter and forcing the water into thedelivery cli a'mber it, and the superimposed airchamber m, compressingthe air in the latter. And soon as equilibrium is established above andbelow the discharge valve j, the compressed in the air-chamber atwillpush back the: Water and close the valve 7', as apparent. The waterwhich escapes downward through the delivery-valve j before the closingthereof, imparts a backward or regurgitating moven'ient to the water inthe ram-body and drive-pipe, su-llieient to generate a partial vacuumbehind the wastevalve a, and by so doing relieves the interior pressureagainst the latter and perm-its the spring 1" to act and open thewaste-valve, whereupon the cycle of motion is resumed, and the action ofthe Waste-valve becomes thenceforthautomatic. The partial verticalsuspensionof the waste-valve opposes only a fraction of its weightagainst the action of spring, which in turn minimizes the resistance tothe force of eliluent water.

hen it is desired to build a ram of larger size embodying myimprovements, I modify the construction of the ram-body, as shown, forexample, in Fig. 7. I i

The theory of such modification is that the capacity of the wastcvalvepassage is proportionate to its diameter and the capacity of thedrive-pipe is as the square of its diameter, thus in a large sized ram,the lift of the waste-valve must be greater to but a greater lift causesa correspondingly greater impact, afact which gene 'ally prevents theuse of rams of large diameter, In my modification, the body I) isconnected to alarge drive-pipe w, and is expanded, so

to allow the drive-water to pass through a plurality of waste-valveopenings, y, 3 individually of smaller diameter than required butaggregating the same area of passage as would be atlorded by a singlewaste-valve of the required diameter. The waste-valve disks 2, 2, shownin. Fig. 7, are suspended from a spindle 2, arranged and journal'ed thesame as the spindle 7) in the smaller type, and the spindle of suchdiskvalves is controlled by one or more springs 33, the parts operatingsubstantially as above described of the single waste-valve.

The throat z' of the delivery-valve constitutes a receptacle for holdingpart of the air admitted during each opening of the Waste-valve, andwhich air enters from the throat into the air-chamber upon each openingof the deli\ 'ery-valve, a shifter-valve not being required in this typeof ram.

I claim:

, In a hydraulic ram, the combination with a body having avertiealenlargement and a waste-outlet in the lower part thereof, of a valveseat secured to said outlet, hinged lugs projecting outward from theupper part of said valve seat, a. spindle supported by said lugs, awaste-valve provided withv an outwardly projecting curved arm by whichit is connected to said spindle, a set collar on said spindle, a leafspring, one end of which is affixed to and coiledl on said set collar,and the upper end projecting outward, and a lug onthe body, againstwhich the projecting end of said spring bears.

PHILIP E. ALGER.

v Witnesses i CHAS. M. GUNN,

T. J. GmsLnR.

afford the same escape for the \\'2L5l.79-.Vilt01';-

